Sesquicentennial CW150: Remembering the Civil War in Arkansas

Arkansas seceded from the Union on May 6, 1861, beginning a period of turmoil and uncertainty for a state that had just joined the Union twenty-five years earlier. Mark Christ, a member of the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, describes it as arguably the most important event in Arkansas history and American history. Created in 2007, the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in Arkansas by promoting historic sites around the state, encouraging research and education programs, and preserving the sites that witnessed the Civil War within the state. The Civil War Sesquicentennial is a five year event that will be commemorated between 2011 and 2015.

AETN in partnership with the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission will present an original one-hour program called CW150: Remembering the Civil War in Arkansas. CW150 reflects on the anniversary of the Civil War and its impact on the state a century and a half later. Host Tommy Sanders talks with guests about Arkansass involvement in the Civil War, why it is relevant in our modern culture, and how it changed the state socially, economically and politically. Guests include history professors Tom DeBlack and Cherisse Jones-Branch; living historian Josh Williams; Executive Director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Richard Davies; and Archeologist Jamie Brandon. Filmed at the Old State House in Little Rock, CW150 premiered on the cusp of a four year initiative to commemorate the Civil War in Arkansas.